For Christmases to come

Published 6:45 am Wednesday, November 15, 2017

A giant tree-planting machine gently places the root ball of a Leyland cypress on the Limestone County Courthouse lawn Tuesday afternoon in Athens. District 3 County Commissioner Jason Black, far right, spearheaded the plan to plant a live Christmas tree on the lawn rather than cut one each year. Also pictured are, from left, Charles Yount of Gro-Green Tree Farm of Albertville, an unidentified state inmate and Tom Kilgore. Scott Smith and Ricky Smith also assisted in the planting. The tree should grow 2 to 3 feet a year and 35 to 40 feet in height.